Equal Rights Since 1949: From Constitutional Text to Practice
Equal rights had been part of the Basic Law since May 8, 1949. Yet many years passed before they were reflected in everyday law.
Article 3, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law states that men and women have equal rights. Was this short sentence enough to change the rules on marriage and family? History shows that it was not enough on its own. This text traces the path and explains why it took so long. It is meant for information and is not legal advice.
The Basic Law and a Disputed Sentence
The Basic Law is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany and was adopted on May 8, 1949. The wording on equal rights for women and men was not obvious to everyone. In December 1948, a committee first rejected it by 11 votes to 9. In the end it was included in the text anyway, but the vote shows how far apart opinions were at the time.
The constitutional sentence and civil law did not match. Article 117 therefore obliged the legislature to adapt civil law by March 31, 1953. That deadline passed without a final law being adopted. In practice this meant that some of the old rules stayed in force even though the constitution said otherwise.
The Equal Rights Act of 1957
The Bundestag passed the Equal Rights Act on May 3, 1957, and it took effect on July 1, 1958. This was an important step, because after years of delay civil law was brought into line with Article 3. The disputes did not end there, however. A central issue was the husband's final say in marital matters, that is, the question of who decides when spouses cannot agree on an important matter.
More than a year lay between passage and entry into force. Passing a law does not change the situation immediately, since implementation takes time.
Family Law Reform in 1977 and the 1975 Ruling
Further-reaching changes came only with the family law reform of 1977, by which time almost thirty years had passed since the Basic Law was adopted. As early as 1975, the Federal Constitutional Court had demanded that the widow's pension be matched by a corresponding provision for widowers. That ruling concerned social security and shows that not only parliament but also the courts decided on equal rights.
The road from constitutional text to practice was therefore long: the Basic Law of 1949, the missed deadline of 1953, the law of 1957 and 1958, the ruling of 1975 and the reform of 1977. Equal rights developed in stages, each of which required its own decisions. Readers interested in related historical topics will find more articles on this service.